Runway clear for Shaw to win 3B job: 'It'd be a dream come true'

MESA, Ariz. -- Matt Shaw has a lot of friends back home in his native Massachusetts who pull for the Red Sox. So it was no surprise that it was one of his buddies who fired off a text on Wednesday night, alerting the Cubs¡¯ top prospect of Alex Bregman¡¯s decision to sign with Boston.

Shaw joked that it was a ¡°win-win¡± for all his Red Sox-loving friends. They get to root for Bregman in Beantown, and Shaw¡¯s path to the Cubs¡¯ vacancy at third base remains wide open. For Shaw -- ranked No. 19 on MLB Pipeline¡¯s Top 100 list -- he just is relieved to have a resolution as he prepares for an important camp.

¡°It's something you definitely follow along with,¡± Shaw said of Bregman¡¯s free agency. ¡°For me, I've been spending a lot of time working on third base. So, that decision impacts a lot, where I might have the opportunity to play in the field.¡±

The Cubs tried to lure Bregman into the fold with a four-year, $115 million offer, per sources, but he opted for a three-year, $120 million pact with the Red Sox. Had Bregman joined his former Astros teammates Kyle Tucker and Ryan Pressly in Chicago, Shaw¡¯s immediate fit for the roster would have been less clear.

During Friday¡¯s first full-squad workout for the Cubs, the 23-year-old Shaw stayed off to the side as his teammates went through the day¡¯s drills. Chicago manager Craig Counsell noted that Shaw is dealing with some left oblique soreness, so the team is being conservative with his workload at the moment.

Counsell described Shaw¡¯s setback as a ¡°day-to-day¡± issue that is not deemed serious, given how the young infielder has responded in recent days. Once Shaw gets clearance to resume normal baseball activities, he will resume his place as the presumptive favorite to be the Opening Day third baseman.

¡°Oh my gosh,¡± Shaw said of that possibility. ¡°Obviously, that¡¯s my goal for this spring. Being able to do that would be amazing. It¡¯d be a dream come true -- something I've been dreaming of for a long time.

¡°To have the front office, coaching staff, players, kind of believe in me and believe that I can help this team win a division and move forward with that would be amazing.¡±

The Cubs have moved on from every player who made at least one start at third base for the team last season. One of those, Isaac Paredes, was dealt to the Astros in December as part of the package to land Tucker. That trade also included third-base prospect Cam Smith (No. 59 on the Top 100 and a first-round Draft pick by Chicago in 2024) going to Houston.

Shaw was picked in the first round by the Cubs in the 2023 Draft, and he has made a swift ascension up the organizational ladder. Between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa last year, Shaw slashed .284/.379/.488 with 21 homers, 19 doubles, four triples, 71 RBIs and 31 steals in 121 games. Shaw then hit .412 for Team USA in the Premier12 showcase in November, leading the tourney in RBIs (14) and total bases (24).

Now, Shaw is in his second Major League camp with a real chance to crack the Opening Day infield.

¡°He strikes me as somebody who has a very strong sense of who he is as a player,¡± Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. ¡°It seems like he self-assesses really well in that way. And there¡¯s always going to be a new challenge, a next thing, and he seems very adept at handling whatever that is that¡¯s coming his way.

¡°I¡¯m just excited to see the kind of player he is. Obviously, I haven¡¯t gotten to be around him much through a season, which is the real test for all of us. I¡¯m just excited to see how he handles every bit of it.¡±

Veteran outfielder Ian Happ said Shaw will also have to adjust to the pressure that arrives with the big league stage.

¡°Being in camp with us and being able to have the opportunity he has in front of him,¡± Happ said, ¡°there¡¯s a lot of sides to it. It¡¯s both fun and enjoyable and a great opportunity. But [reporters] are talking to him around his locker, and that¡¯s a different part of it. It¡¯s just being able to go out and enjoy it, and get the experience from the guys who have been there and done it.¡±

Shaw plans on embracing the opportunity.

¡°That¡¯s all you can ask for. It¡¯s something I really look forward to,¡± Shaw said. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a really exciting spring -- it should be a lot of fun.¡±